Beachgoers a bit jittery since shark sighting

Thursday

Aug 28, 2014 at 5:17 AMAug 28, 2014 at 12:16 PM

At Duxbury Beach, staff handed out flyers Wednesday warning people to go into the water no deeper than the waist. In Marshfield, swimmers were ordered out of the water along town beaches when someone reported seeing a shark off Ocean Bluff. Officials decided it was probably a sunfish.

Staff Reporter

MARSHFIELD – In Duxbury, beach lovers were going no more than waist deep in the water Wednesday. A few miles away in Marshfield, lifeguards ordered swimmers out of the water along beaches from Ocean Bluff to Humarock.

No one is taking chances, not since a 15-foot great white shark was spotted 150 yards off the outer beach in Duxbury on Monday.

In Marshfield on Wednesday, swimmers were ordered out of the water along town beaches when someone reported seeing a shark off Ocean Bluff. Officials decided it was probably a sunfish.

Ocean sunfish, also known as mola mola, can grow as large as 10 feet. They have fins and are sometimes mistaken for sharks.

Lifeguards in Marshfield blew whistles to evacuate the water around 2 p.m. and police and State Police helicopters responded.

“People may be more stressed out because of the shark in Duxbury,” said Liam Dunn, 20, a lifeguard on duty at Humarock Beach.

Marshfield fisherman Dan Newcomb said he was certain that whoever reported the shark sighting had actually seen a sunfish. He spotted a sunfish earlier Wednesday while fishing off Scituate. “I didn’t think twice about it,” he said, adding that sunfish typically show up in late August.

It wasn’t until he saw helicopters over the water that he figured someone had mistaken the sunfish for a shark and called harbormasters to tell them what he’d seen. Newcomb had a picture of the sunfish.

Marshfield Assistant Harbormaster Robert Hayes said sunfish are sizeable and commonly spotted throughout the year.

“We were pretty scared because of what we heard at Duxbury Beach with the 15-foot great white,” said Kate Dillon, 11, of Scituate, who was at Humarock Beach when swimmers were told to get out of the water.

“A lot of people were looking in the water. We felt pretty safe with the lifeguard on the surfboard,” she said.

Jordan Falvey, 10, said he saw police, helicopters, and lifeguards responding. “They said there was a shark sighting,” he said, adding that it was a bit scary to go back in the water after the all-clear.

At Duxbury Beach, staff handed out flyers, warning people to go into the water no deeper than the waist and to swim at their own risk.

“My dad thinks it’s because the fish are moving closer to shore because of warmer weather and the sharks are coming in to feed,” said Lauren DeCastro, whose father is a fisherman.

Sydney Lesniewki, 8, visiting relatives in Duxbury from New Jersey, said she was a bit nervous about the shark coming back to Duxbury Beach. “I get scared. I’ve never seen a shark before. I’d like to see a shark but not one that eats people,” she said.

Brianna Connolly, 19, of Duxbury said she had taken extra swimming precautions with the five children she was babysitting on Wednesday.

A competitive bicyclist from Hanover, Lori Cooke, said her daughter was at Duxbury Beach on Monday when the shark was spotted. “She said ‘Mom, you’re not going to believe this but there’s a great white shark here.’”

The shark spotted Monday was photographed by State Police on routine helicopter patrol over the water. People were told to get out of the water and the helicopter tracked the shark until it headed south into deeper water

“It didn’t deter me at all,” Cooke said of the shark sighing. “They said not to go past your waist but I just went under.”

Natalie Ornell may be reached at nornell@ledger.com.

Never miss a story

Choose the plan that's right for you.
Digital access or digital and print delivery.